ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid

ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid – hi-fi contact cleaner

Four years in development (and 500 prototypes later!) Chord Company is proud to announce its long-awaited ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid, a highly advanced liquid polymer solution, specifically designed to maximise the surface area of a variety of plug connections, improving their performance.

Developed by an acclaimed industrial chemist and Andante Largo in Japan, the new ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid works by deploying polymers to fill pits and imperfections on the surfaces of connections, creating a greater contact area and, therefore, improving the performance of the connection: the lower the resistance, the higher the current (signal).

After a painstaking research period, the final formulation has been proven to deliver long-term stability for very low-voltage connections, performing consistently over all connection types, voltages and frequencies.

ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid is distinguished from other enhancing products, as the formula starts to work at very low voltage thresholds and, when applied carefully, has a very long operational life; the original long-term test cables (built and treated over four years ago) are still significantly outperforming the identical (but untreated) cables, built at the same time.

ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid can be applied to all metal contacts, from speaker cable connections and interconnect cable plugs, to power cables and more. Being water- rather than oil-based, its non-toxic formula is not harmful to the environment. The solution is available now priced at £200 (10ml).

Improving signal transfer

In a modern hi-fi system, signal levels vary enormously: from the tiny output of a moving coil cartridge (a maximum of approximately 150 microvolts) up to 230 volts on power cables. All these differing signals pass through connectors during their musical journey and these can often be the source of significant signal loss.

The connector has always been an integral part of our designs. Over the years, we have introduced a series of bespoke connectors and continue to look for ways to improve designs. Some of these upgrades have been clearly visible, while others have been internal or involved plating process changes – not seen, but easily heard.

Connecting equipment has issues: plugs and sockets can vary in size between different manufacturers; it is not uncommon to find some sockets and plug combinations are tight, whilst others feel loose.

The basis of a good electrical connection is a good mechanical connection: a greater contact area lowers the contact resistance, creating a better connection and allowing more current (signal) to flow. The reason can be easily understood when looking at the illustration below.

Take any connector, no matter how smooth and polished it appears to the eye, at a microscopic level, it is anything but. The upper image shows the points of contact with a loose connection. With these loose contacts, the actual contact area is poor.

The lower illustration shows the increase in contact area when the connection is placed under higher pressure. However, the diagram illustrates that even with the tighter connection, there are still spaces between the two surfaces. These spaces are clearly not forming any part of the connection.

It seemed logical for Chord Company to look at ways to further reduce the resistance of these connections. After more than four years of testing, Chord Company’s engineers felt they could finally ‘offer a solution’ to the issue with the ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid. By filling the gaps, the polymer creates an even better contact area and, therefore, performance. Again, the lower the resistance the higher the current (signal).